Asian elephants engage in vocal mourning and burial ceremonies for their deceased calves, as per a pioneering study by Indian researchers. The study, titled "Unearthing calf burials among Asian Elephants Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Elephantidae) in northern Bengal, India" published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, documents five such rituals from 2022-2023.
Sacred Rituals of Grief: Extraordinary Burial Practices of Asian Elephants in Northern Bengal
The research team noticed that the herd would always carry the deceased calf using the trunk and legs before burying it with its legs facing upward. The study, relying on opportunistic observation, digital photography, field notes, and postmortem reports, indicates abnormal recumbent burial, regardless of the calf's cause of death. One instance involved the herd loudly roaring and trumpeting around the buried calf.
Calves are exclusively chosen for burial due to the impracticality of transporting heavier adult elephants by the rest of the herd. Fellow elephants were observed burying the calves, marking the first documentation of this behavior in Asian elephants.
The findings stem from a study in northern Bengal conducted by Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan and researcher Akashdeep Roy from the Indian Institute of Science, Education, and Research.
Mr. Roy emphasized the unique burial strategy, stating elephants are sentient beings with unparalleled burial practices. Their research found no direct human intervention in the five calf deaths. Clear footprints of 15 to 20 elephants were observed around the burial sites, with the calves, aged between three months and a year, all succumbing to multiple organ failure.
Burials occurred in irrigation canals on tea estates, far from human settlements. The study contrasts with previous findings among African elephants, known for weak burials involving leaves and twigs. The region, home to 500 wild Asian elephants, is fragmented with forests, tea gardens, and military establishments.
Post-mortem reports revealed contusions and drag marks on the calves, suggesting they were dragged by trunk and legs before being buried. The calves were delicately placed, with elephants prioritizing the head and torso first to protect against carnivores. The elephants avoided paths where calves were buried, with all five herds leaving the site within 40 minutes of burial and choosing different migration routes.
Experts highlight the strong bonds between elephants and their offspring due to oxytocin hormones and a 22-month gestation period. While African elephants' burial behavior has been briefly studied, this study sheds light on unexplored practices among their smaller Asian counterparts, revealing distinct behaviors during carcass visits and migration routes post-burial.
Endangered Status of Asian Elephants
The Asian elephant, classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, faces a precarious existence with an estimated 26,000 remaining in the wild, mainly in India and Southeast Asia. Once flourishing in large herds across Asia's forests, the species is now threatened by habitat loss, driven by intensive logging, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development.
Rapid human population growth in elephant range countries exacerbates these challenges, leading to human-elephant conflicts as elephants encroach on villages, damaging crops and resulting in retaliatory actions.
This conflict claims over 100 elephants and 50 human lives annually in Sri Lanka alone. Additionally, poaching for ivory tusks and other body parts further contributes to the decline of this endangered species, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive conservation measures.
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